In a letter to the speaker of the House of Deputies, Ion Diaconescu,
Romanian Prime Minister Radu Vasile has urged the Permanent Bureau to
examine the opportunity of an extraordinary session in Parliament starting
from July 1. The session would be aimed at adopting draft laws seen as
essential for the process of reform. The prime minister's letter says "the
reform is not the Government's exclusive responsability, and the Parliament
should feel responsible and observe the deadlines in the governing
programme". Mr Radu Vasile proposed that the agenda of the session might be
decided following mutual consultations between the Government and the
Parliament. RADOR

"The decision to close down the 0215 Military Unit (UM 0215) is not
necessarily connected to its alleged members of the former Securitate;
actually, it was the image of the unit in the public opinion and its
activity that were taken into account", Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu
declared after his hearing on Wednesday before the Commission for defence,
public order and national security affairs in the House of Deputies. The
minister has presented the commission with information about the two
structures to replace the UM 0215. The way the unit's archives are to be
transfered is to be decided in the next few days. RADOR

At a press conference on Wednesday, Romanian Health Minister Francisc
Barany said the Medicine Commission should register all medicines in
Romania. The medicines provided through humanitarian aid are excepted, but
the donor should prove they were guaranteed and represented no toxic or
ecologic threat. The minister claims that we need further humanitarian
medical aid from abroad, but the way of providing it should be reviewed.
The minister said to journalists that, in 1961, he has actually signed a
pledge of cooperation with the former Securitate (ed.n. former communist
political police), but he did it because he was under arm threat. He
admitted he had to do it, though he did not believe he was an informer.
Consequently, he is ready to answer any accusation and eventually renounce
his immunity. RADOR

Four deputies belonging to the ruling Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
in Romania (UDMR) have presented the House of Deputies' Permanent Bureau
with a legal proposal concerning the resetting up of a Hungarian language
teaching state university in the Transylvanian town of Cluj-Napoca,
according to Law 407/1945. The university operated by 1959 when it was
actually closed down. The new university may be coordinated by the Ministry
of National Education and other faculties and branches may be set up in
other Romanian towns if necessary. RADOR

[05] PUNR is against the setting up of a Hungarian university in Romania

The Romanians' National Unity Party (PUNR) is against the setting up of a
Hungarian language teaching university in Cluj-Napoca or in any other
Romanian town. At a PUNR press conference on Wednesday, PUNR Deputy Lazar
Ladariu said the solution put forward by parties in the governing coalition
was an absolute nonsense. Referring to a future social- democrat politcal
pole in Romanian politics, PUNR Secretary General Vasile Dobrescu said his
party was actually examining the possibility, but he wandered why such
national parties like PUNR and PRM (ed.n. Greater Romania Party) were not
invited to attend the talks. RADOR

The former sovereign of Romania, King Michael I, and his wife, Queen Ana of
Bourbon Parma, have ended their three-day visit to Galatzi county.The Royal
Family visited the monasteries of Vladimiresti and Buchumeni, the town of
Tecuch, the Costake Conaki memorial home in Manjina, and then met workers
of the Galatzi shipyard. On Wednesday, King Michael and Queen Ana have then
left Galatzi for the city of Braila, another Romanian town on the Danube
riverside. RADOR

While on a two-day visit to Italy, the Speaker of the Romanian Senate,
Petre Roman, has made on Wednesday a speech on "Romanian Foreign and
Security Policies" at the Centre for Defence High Studies in Rome. He
pointed out that Romania's foreign and security policies were part of the
European process of political restructuring. While praising the excellent
relations between Romania and Italy as well as the Italian concrete support
of Romania's efforts for its future EU and NATO membership, Mr Roman has
mentioned that our country had all political and legal intruments to reach
the task. As far as the NATO extension process was concerned, he said
Romania was highly interested in the results of the NATO summit in
Washington next year as the country expected to see concrete proofs of
NATO's "open door" policy. RADOR

On Wednesdy at Victoria Palace, Romanian Prime Minister Radu Vasile met
Naphtali Lavie, Vicepresident of the World Jewish Restitution Organisation
(WJRO), and Tova Ben Nun, Director for Romania of the Jewish Agency for
Israel. The talks highlighted the good relations between the Jewish
organisation and Romanian authorities and focused on the restitution of
Jewish property in Romania. Mr Lavie said a foundation had been established
- including representatives of the Federation of Jewish Communities in
Romania and WJRO members - in order to get back Jewish properties
confiscated during the communist regime. In his turn, the prime minister
said provisions over the issue were part of his Cabinet's governing
programme. RADOR

Most of the warships participating in the "Cooperative Partner '98"
military training exercise have started their manoeuvres in the Black Sea
on Wednesday. Participants include amphibian and navy planecarriers in
Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and the
US. The exercise is aimed at promoting trust and cooperation between NATO
forces and armies in NATO partner countries as well as improving strategies
in peace-keeping operations. A public show of landing operations is planned
on June 21 in the northern areas of the Black Sea resort of Mamaia. RADOR

A seminar on cross-border cooperation issues is taking place in the
northern Romanian city of Botosani. Participants include representatives of
NGOs and public administrations in Romania, Ukraine and the Republic of
Moldova. Debates focused on concrete similar projects in the three
countries which could get the financial support of EU CREDO and TACIS-Phare
programmes. Participants also include representatives of the Ukrainian
region of Chernautsi, the Moldovan regions of Edints, Glodeni, Ruscani and
Falesti and the Romanian county of Botosani as well as representatives of
the PHARE programmes in Romania. RADOR